Fever
by charliebrown1234
Summary: Anakin and Obi-Wan are trapped on a planet with a virus called the Fever. Can they both escape alive?


**Sadly, it's not mine and never will be. Oh well… **

It was supposed to have been a simple, diplomatic mission. An easy trip that would have the both of them back on Coruscaunt before three standard days. But things were never as they seemed, because upon arrival they had found out that the entire planet had been infected with a virus simply named 'The Fever'. It was harsh, highly contagious and was almost always fatal. So the simple diplomatic mission quickly turned into a relief effort as both he and Anakin tried to ease the burden on the hospitals and establish communication lines to the Republic for back-up.

It was too late for most of them though. Millions upon millions died from the virus turned plague, littering the streets and clogging up the hospitals, leaving children orphaned and spouses widowed until they died as well. With no cure, soon only he and Anakin were left in the capital, trapped on a planet with a virulent, contagious disease and the dead.

Anakin was first to catch the virus. They had both know it was inevitable, having been around the ill to long to properly protect themselves with the Force, and now knew it was a desperate race against time to get off planet.

"Come on Anakin. You're not making this any easier." Obi-Wan grunted, pulling the almost unconscious young man from the building he had collapsed in. Anakin had gone down hard in the remnants of a garage a few minutes earlier and had been a dead weight since.

Anakin just moaned weakly as he was half carried, half dragged down the street. In the distance, Obi-Wan spied the landing platform where the ship was. "Blast!" he muttered. There was no way he could carry Anakin that far.

Obi-Wan's hopes lifted marginally as he spied another garage of some sort just a few buildings away. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, he got Anakin inside, horribly aware that every second longer that Anakin was left untreated only increased his chances of not surviving. Obi-Wan leaned over for a moment, hands on his knees, to catch his breath before straightening up and looking around. A serviceable looking speeder was parked only feet away. That was good. He shuffled towards it to check if the keys were in the ignition, and then stumbled backwards, shocked at the sight before him.

Curled pitifully around each other were two natives of the planet, an older woman and what looked like a toddler. Both faces were a deathly pale, and their dull eyes gazed up at him in what looked like silent reproach for letting them die a painful, solitary death.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. They were already beyond his help, but his former Padawan was still breathing and still had a chance to live another day. Obi-Wan reached out for the Force, but he had none left for such a job. The small amount of the Force he could feel was only enough to stop the trembling in his exhausted limbs. Manually, then.

He took out the child first, almost cradling it as he set the girl in a space clear of rubble. Her grandmother was next, and more difficult, but she too received the same careful, respectful treatment. It was almost fitting in a way that he should leave them in the same way that he found them. He made only one adjustment to the scene, and that was to close the pair's eyes. He shuddered at the deceiving sight, and then turned.

Anakin hadn't moved from where he'd laid him down. Suddenly aware of the time he'd wasted, Obi-Wan hauled him upward again and laid him into the speeder. The angle that this turned his former padawan's face only highlighted the sweat trails that fractured the patsy white face. They had to get to the ship soon, for Anakin wouldn't last much longer without proper healing.

He stood achingly from his bent position, his muscles complaining, and a wave of dizziness overcame him. Hand pressed to the side of the speeder, he endured it, waiting until the room stopped spinning to settle into the unfamiliar pilot's seat. Without a second thought, he seized the controls and rammed out of the garage. Time was running out.

They reached the ship. He pulled Anakin out of the speeder roughly and staggered to the hatch release, slapping the button with his palm. The dizziness was back full strength now, and it was all he could manage to keep both himself and Anakin upright. He watched with bleary eyes as the hatch lowered and the bright interior lights of the ship made him see stars.

Once inside he set the coordinates for Coruscaunt and set the ship to fly itself. He needed to help Anakin, and the ship could function on autopilot for weeks at a time if need be.

Anakin lay on a dull metal table in the inadequate med bay. There wasn't much to work with. A breath mask, a few cases of bacta and a small bottle of fever dullers for the common illness was all that was available to him. That, and the Force. He knew which one would be more effective. He administered the fever pills first though, in the faint hope that he could get Anakin cogent enough so he wouldn't have to kick down his shields. Easing them down Anakin's throat, he only had to wait a few minutes before the combination of the pills and Anakin's Jedi training kicked in and he awoke.

"Obi-Wan?" Anakin's fever glazed eyes searched him. "It's so hot…"

"I know, Anakin, I know. Can you focus enough to lower your shields? I don't want to hurt you."

"Obi-Wan… Why are you so pale? You're sweating." Anakin said faintly.

"Anakin, focus. Your shields." He was all too aware of the sweat beading on his face. Anakin's shields lowered slowly, and he pressed a palm to his friends reddening face. Anakin was much too warm for a human's standards… "Be calm Anakin." He implored, taking what he had of the Force. "This might hurt."

He threw himself into the Force, and it hummed through him, pulling him into a trance as he made himself a conduit for it and channeled its healing energy into Anakin's weakening body. Anakin's presence reached out and sucked the energy from him as well, making him feel as though he was being torn in two. And then he was a conduit for Anakin's pain.

Fever heat swirled around him as he plunged deeper, almost to the point where he could feel the infected cells struggling against the Force's awesome power. Obi-Wan felt like every nerve ending in his body was being roasted over hot coals, and every part of him gasped for the end of the battle against this malevolent virus. He could make Anakin better in a second if he were a real healer, but all he had was a proclivity for it and basic training from Vokara Che. Maybe then he wouldn't feel this unrestricted heat so deeply that was sucking out his life-force, like some dehydrated animal at a puddle.

It mattered little to him, though, as he poured more and more of it and himself into Anakin's now writhing body. Hearing his own harsh breath, he knew that if this went on for much longer the both of them would be lost.

Then he felt the change. The fever was dying out, the heat easing as the Force eliminated the infected cells. It was all he could do to pull himself out of the still burning fire that was Anakin and slump to the floor.

Yet the fever still remained in him. He could feel it targeting his own cells and felt his body heat rise to an almost unbearable level. All he wanted to do was lay on the cool metal floor, but his duty recalled him to reality and he strained himself upward to check on Anakin.

His former Padawan's face was lax and peaceful, breathing slowly and deeply like a man in slumber. Placing a hand on his forehead he discovered that Anakin's fever was gone as well. His desperate, almost last minute healing had taken hold. He laughed breathily. "Anakin, I've healed you. You're not going to die!" He choked, brushing aside the hair covering Anakin's eyes. They opened as he did so.

"Master?" Anakin breathed, "What happened?"

"It's okay, Anakin. You caught the fever, but I healed you. It's okay now." Obi-Wan could see the shock in Anakin's face and wondered why. Maybe it was because his former Padawan knew he was going to live another day? He felt himself smile anyway, but it didn't feel right, so he stopped quickly.

"Master! What's wrong with you?" Anakin gasped, reaching a hand toward him. When he put it to his forehead, Obi-Wan couldn't help but let out a sigh and press himself closer to it. Anakin's hand was almost as cold as the floor, and it felt so very nice against his skin…

"Anakin?" He said, looking down at him from his standing position. "Why is it so hot?" Then he felt the heat rise and a wave of dizziness and knew no more.

When Anakin had opened his eyes, he had known something was wrong. He was lying in a ships med bay when he had previously been in a building helping Obi-Wan search for a speeder, and his former Master had been leaning over him with the most peculiar expression on his face. He had looked almost elated, and to see Obi-Wan looking like any emotion was worrying. Looking closer, he noticed the feverish eyes and the reddened cheeks.

"Master! What's wrong with you?" He had exclaimed, and he had reached out a hand to try and stabilize the swaying man. Then his hand had met fire, and he had meant to snatch it away until Obi-Wan moved closer and rested his weight on it, closing his eyes and letting out a pathetic sounding sigh of relief. Then he had opened them again and asked "Why is it so hot?" and collapsed to the ground.

This, of course, caused him to shout, "Master!" and capture the man in his arms. The older man's face was almost as red as his hair, and trapped in Anakin's enclosing arms he began to sweat even more. The heat roiling off of him was like the twin suns of Tatooine, and he couldn't bring himself to touch the man's bare skin again.

"Easy Master," he panted as he eased his friend onto the table he had recently vacated, "You're going to be fine." He knew from what he and Obi-Wan had done to help the natives that you were supposed to keep the person's body cool, and that if, when, delusions occurred you were supposed to prevent them from panicking. Unfortunately, he was only equipped to deal with the first problem as the idea of facing a panicking Obi-Wan was far beyond his still scrambled mind.

He ran for a rag and a bowl of water as the cabin chrono ticked off the hours until they reached the Temple.

Obi-Wan's dreams were much worse than he ever could have imagined. If the vast amount of memories and delusions hadn't frightened him, the raw despair and emotions pouring through their bond was enough make him want to go reeling from his Master's side. It was a never ending cycle of death and loss, and he had no idea how Obi-Wan had kept all this pain bottled up over the years. And because of that he somehow knew the tears that wet Obi-Wan's cheeks weren't only from the heat that was burning him from the inside out.

Once, during a particularly bad episode, Anakin had tried to wake him.

"Obi-Wan!" he had shouted, shaking the man. "It's not real!"

"No…" His master had whimpered.

"Snap out of it Obi-Wan!"

"Wait for me, Qui-Gon…"

"Qui-Gon's not here Obi-Wan, you have to wake up and calm down!"

"Please, Qui-Gon! He's going to kill you! Qui-Gon!" And then his Master had let forth the most terrible scream imaginable, his face twisting in raw anguish.

After that it had seemed as though his Master was dead. His only movement was the shuddering lift of his chest as his lungs tried to pull in a substance that seemed foreign to him and the darting of his eyes beneath his lids. Anakin did his best to keep him cool, even going so far as stripping off his upper tunic and soaking it in water, but it did little for his mentor. It seemed that all he could do was wait as the fever raged on, slowly killing the man he considered his father.

Obi-Wan recalled none of this afterwards. When he finally awoke in the healer's ward, he had only dim recollections of carrying Anakin into the ship and punching in the coordinates for Coruscaunt. This led the healers to believe that the general trauma of the whole situation had led him to block out the memories, and strangely Obi-Wan was content enough to leave them blocked. Somehow Anakin understood this. Some things, he knew, would always be kept secrets.

**If anyone's interested, I could definitely post a follow up chapter and maybe later an AU ROTS ending. You'd have to tell me through review though… More is to come as soon as I can tape myself to the computer again! **

**~charliebrown1234**


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